I honestly cannot say more about this book than that I thought every word utterly magnificent. If you love children's books, or have children, or work with children, or were once a child (happened to the best of us), this book is a brilliant and worthwhile read: a beautiful manifesto on just how worthy of respect children's literature is, was, and should endeavour to be. What I wouldn't give to have Mac Barnett in conversation with Katherine Rundell.

At just over one hundred pages, this little essay packs a (relevant) punch from across the pond, showcasing how so much of publishing/ literature can be seen as failing the children that step inside a bookstore/ library/ bookcase’s embrace. As well as why so many then seem to either run from literature, or fall asleep mid paragraph. It’s because we (adults) forget the most important lesson is play. To Make Believe. To remember that these children we try to educate, grow and form into adults, are filled with care and passion and other-worldly imagination that we as “grown-ups” have forgotten is the doorway to the empathy that we hope to instill inside them. Erudite, fresh and successfully funny; Make Believe is a quick, but thought-provoking read on the importance of children’s literature.

Well, this one has managed to cause some controversy. Seems to be a bit of a trend this year, of hearing one small part of a book and drawing wider conclusions from it. There’s been a lot of anger about Barnett’s supposed criticism of children’s literature in this book, but after reading the whole thing, I personally think the anger over that quote in particular has been overblown. What is, in my opinion, a tongue in cheek comment about the fact that many children’s books are bad is backed up with the point that this is true of all things, in particular adult literature. And we do not judge Austen or Dostoyevsky off the back of commercial fiction, or even Rooney or Murakami. We allow bad adults books to exist in isolation, without drawing a wider conclusion about the state of literature, but we do not give the same grace to children’s books. Ultimately, this book is a call to treat children’s books with the same respect we do adults books, as works of art. Because they are, just with a wider audience. A good children’s book can (and should) be enjoyed by adults and children alike. Lord knows I have felt more moved and laughed more at children’s books over the last few years than I have most adult books. They are a unique thing, often discussing huge topics while balancing the limitations of children’s life experience. And these restrictions lead to brilliant works, not lesser ones.